Front guide mechanism



May 26, 1959 E. M. MONTGOMERY FRONT GUIDE MECHANISM 2 SheetsSheet 1Filed Aug. 20, 1956 Hi 0. H f a. 8 bx om E \1; mm m m 2 0 o S nv -ww 1 Q0 O W G H O M vm an? l 2 mm @Q 2 0m 3. vm 3 mm INVENTOR.

e m H 0 W A m E /M y 1959 E. M. MONTGOMERY 2,888,262

FRONT GUIDE MECHANISM Filed Aug. 20, 1956 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VELE.

IN VEN TOR.

B E/mer' M. Monfgomer'y W a /regs United States. Patent O FRONT GUIDEMECHANISM Elmer M. Montgomery, Brookfield, 11]., assignor toMiehle-Goss-Dexter, Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationAugust 20, 1956, Serial No. 605,033 4 Claims. (Cl. 27160) The-presentinvention pertains in general to flat bed and cylinder presses forprinting and/or die cutting stifi sheets of cardboard or the likematerial. The invention is directed more specifically to registeringmechanism for registering stifi sheets of material after the individualsheets :have been completely separated and advanced from a stack thereofand prior to their being fed into the press.

Because of their stifi, relatively inflexible nature, sheets ofcardboard and corrugated board cannot be wrapped around an impressioncylinder like ordinary paper stock to receive a printing or diecuttingimpression. Therefore, conventional feeders which separate andfeed sheets from the top of a pile to grippers which carry the sheetaround the impression cylinder, cannot readily be used. In such cases,therefore, bottom sheet feeders are usually employed to feed the sheetsdirectly into the bite between the cylinder and bed so that the sheetsare not curved or distorted beyond the maximum limits of elasticity..While the latter class of feeders virtually eliminates problemspertaining to the separation and feeding of cardboard sheets, theygreatly increase the difiiculty of maintaining accurate register of thesheets which is so essential in quality work, particularly when asubsequent die cutting operation must register accurately with apreceding printed impression.

In virtually all bottom sheet feeders, little or no attempt is made toobtain front edge registration of the sheets. This is due to the factthat as each sheet is advanced it is under positive control of thepusher fingers which engagethe rear edge of the sheet and project itinto the bite of coacting feed rollers which in turn-advance the sheetdirectly into the bite of the printing or die cutting members. Suchoperation, in efiect, constitutes, rear edge registration of the sheet,and is wholly dependent upon the relative positions of the pusherfingers. Obviously, such practice is not conductive to accurate registerin subsequent operations which are dependent upon conventional frontedge registering mechanism.

Moreover, the absence of front register guides increases the need forcritical adjustments of the pusher fingers in order that the sheets willbe positioned properly relative to a:corresponding register point on theform or cutting die so that the sheet will not be advanced or retardedwith respect to the die as it advances in timed relation therewith intothe bite of the coacting members. In other words, the absence of frontedge register guides not on'ly'increases the problem of maintaining theparallel relation of the sheet with respect to the form or cutting die,but also the timing of the sheet with respect to the motion of the formor cutting die.

It also will be evident that corrective adjustments'of the pusherfingers can only be made when the press is shut down and, therefore, agreat deal of productive time must be sacrificed before the precise andfinal setting'is obtained. i .With my novel registering mechanism it ispossible to capitalize on all of the advantages afiorded by bottomterial without sacrificing accurate front edge registration of thesheets. Moreover, due to the novel motion im-' parted to the frontregister guides, critical adjustments of the pusher fingers are nolonger required and cor rective adjustments of the guides can be madewhile the press is in operation. Another important advantage of themechanism resides in the fact that substantially one half of thecomplete cycle of operation of the'press is utilized for the registeringoperation thereby providing I ample time to accurately position eachsheet.- I

It is a primary object of my invention,'therefore, to provideregistering mechanism, particularly adapted for use in conjunction withbottom sheet feeders, which is of' relatively simple construction,efficient in operation, and economical to manufacture. Another object ofmy invention is to provide registering guides which have rearward motionto eifect regis-I ter of a sheet in the registering zone and forwardmotion to-remove them from the path of the registered sheet.

A still further object is to provide register guides which have rearwardmotion in a path substantially parallel to the plane of the sheets toeffect register of the sheets and forward motion in a parabolic pathgenerally perpendicular to the plane of the sheets, to quickly removethem from the path of the sheets. I i

A still further object is to provide registering guides' havingadjustable members for varying the lay of the registered sheets andwhich are adjustable while the machine is in operation.

:Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings wherein; 3

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing a preferredembodiment of the invention; I a Figure 2 is a "view substantially alongline II-'--II of Figurel;

Figure 3 is an end view along the line III III of Figure 1, showing theregister guide actuatingmechan'ism; Figure 4 is a sectionalview on theline 'IV-'-IV of Figure 2; and Figure 5 is a schematic view showing thepath of moveinent of the register guides. 1 e

i In Figure 1, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my inventionas incorporated in a conventional die cutting and creasing press withonly that portion of the press being shown which is essential to a clearunderstanding of the various elements involved. .-Thepress as shown isof the two revolution type 'wherein abontinm is provided with rollers 14adjacent each corner'thereof which support the bed for reciprocationbelow the impression cylinder on horizontally disposed parallel tracks16.

Immediately to the rear of the impression cylinder and slightly abovethe path of the reciprocating bed is a register table 17 on which thesheets S are supported while they are being registered and until theyare advanced into the bite between the bed and cylinder as the forwardon its die cutting stroke.

The means whereby the sheets are separated from a stack and advanced tothe front edge of the register table have not been shown because theyform he of the bed moves present invention. It will be understood,however, that any conventional feed mechanism that will advance a singlesheet to the registerposition during each forwarddisclosed, for example,in the copending application Patented May 26, 1959 3 Serial Number603,974, filed August 14, 1956, and which isadapted to engage andadvance each succeeding bottom sheet of a pile until it is completelyremoved from beneath the stack of sheets and is in position with itsleading edge adjacentfront register guides 18 at the forward end oftheregister table. The sheet remains at rest in this advanced positionduring the entire return stroke of the bed andthus ample time isprovided for effective and accurateregistrationof the sheet before it isadvanced into the bite of the cylinder and bed. After the sheet isregistered and immediately before the bed 11 starts its next forwardstroke, a feed roller 19 drops down into position on the sheet tomaintain it in its registered position as the front register guides 18are raised out of the path thereof. Then, as the bed starts its forwardstroke, the feed roller 19 is rotated in timed relation therewith and atthe same surface speed as the bed to advance the sheet directly into thebite between the cylinder and the die cutting form 13. For a morecomplete description of the feeder mechanism and the function of thefeed roller 19, referencefmay be had to the above identified copendingapplication.

The. two front guides 18 are each comprised of an intermediate hubportion 80, a depending sheet engaging finger 81 and an oppositelyprojecting bifurcated extension .82. The guides are pivotally mounted ona transverse supporting shaft 22 which is located above the front edgeof the register table 17. The latter shaft is adapted to bBxOSClllfiiCd,relative to said front guides, about the axes of eccentric journalswhereby to move the sheet engaging fingers 81 in, a rearward directionfrom a sheet stop or neutral position to engage and register eachsucceeding sheet on the feed table and while the bed moves on its returnor inactive stroke and then in a forward and upward; direction out ofthe path of the sheets as the bed reverses its direction and starts onits active or die cutting stroke.

The shaft 22 is provided with eccentric journals 23 at each end thereof,see Figure 2, which are rotatably mounted in the side frames 24 and 25and it also carries a lever 26 by means of which it is oscillated aboutthe axes of the eccentric journals so as to impart the above mentionedoscillating motion to the front guides 18 in timed relation to themovement of the bed.

Above the shaft 22 and arranged parallel therewith are two-shortershafts 27 and 28. Those shafts areadapted to fit into the grooves 29formed in the extensions 82 of the respective front guides so as tocontrol said guides and maintain them in a predetermined angularposition for agiven angular position of the supporting shaft 22. As willbecome evident from the following description, the shafts, 27, 28 alsofunction as pivots about which the guides-.18 ;are oscillated when theshaft 22 is oscillated about its eccentric journals so as to move thesheet engaging fingers 81 between their sheet registering andinoperative positions. The diameters of the shafts 27 and 28 are suchthat they fit snugly into the grooves 29 without any free play, but notso tightly as to prevent relative sliding motion of the guides as theymove through the various positions and pivot about the axes of saidshafts.

The shafts 27 and 28 also are provided with eccentric journals 30, 31,and 32, 33 respectively, and are mounted for angular adjustment aboutthe axes of said journals whereby to adjust the pivot axes of the frontguides angularly about the supporting shaft 22 and which in turnadvances or retracts the register position of the sheet engaging fingers81. Shaft 27 is journaled in the side frame 25 and the depending bracket34 and shaft 28 is similarly journalled in the side frame 24 and acorresponding bracket 35. The brackets in turn are secured to the bottomface of a transverse channel member 36 secured to the frames 24 and 25.

As'can be seen best in Figures 1 and 2, the shaft 22 is arranged to beoscillated about the axes of its eccentric journals by means of acontinuously rotating cam 37 having an irregular contour and beingmounted on the transverse supporting shaft 38 and which cam imparts.oscillating motion, through a roller 39, to an arm 40 of a bell crankthat is pivoted at 41 on a bracket 42 secured to the channel member 43.This motion which is variable due to the contour of the cam, is in turntransferred to the shaft 22 through the connecting rod 44 connectedbetween the free end of arm 40 and the lever 26 on said shaft.

The other arm 46 of the bell crank carries a rod 47, the free end ofwhich is slidably mounted in a pivoted boss 48 on the bracket 42. Acompression spring 49 mounted about the rod 47, exerts pressure betweenthe boss 48 and a collar 51 on the rod 47 to maintain the roller 39 inintimate contact with the cam 37.

The cam 37 is arranged to rotate through one complete revolution foreach cycle of ope-ration of the press and is driven by means of a wormgear 52 secured to the end of the cam shaft 38, see Figure 3. This gearin turn meshes with a worm 53 on the shaft 54 which maybe driven fromany convenient source .from the main drive of the press.

From the description thus far it will be evident that as the cam 37rotates, a corresponding oscillating motion will be imparted to theshaft 22 and, because of the eccentric journals 23, this motion of theshaft will impart a swinging motion to the guides 18 about the axes ofthe control shafts 27 and 28 causing the depending ends of the guides tomove rearwardly at a relatively slow speed from their sheet stoppingposition, indicated at A in Figure 5,v to the sheet registering positionB and thence forwardly and upwardly at an accelerated speed to aretracted position C to allow the registered sheet to pass into the bitebetween the bed and cylinder during the die cutting stroke of the bed.

The rearward motion imparted to the guides 18, for the purpose ofregistering sheets while they are at rest onithe register table 17, isof particular advantage when processing cardboard or the like material,especially when a bottom sheet feeder is used. In such case, the pusherfingers of the feeding mechanism need only advance the sheet until itsleading edge is within the relatively large register zone whereupon theguides 18 move rearwardly to register and position the sheet relative tothe cutting die on the reciprocating bed. Therefore the adjustment ofthe pusher fingers, which can only be made when the press. is stopped,is not critical because the rearward, registering motion of the guidescompensates for any. inaccuracy in the setting of the pusher fingers.

Moreover, the register guides may be adjusted if need b-ewhile the pressisin operation, to bring the sheets into'register without stopping thepress. These adjustments are accomplished manually by mechanismassociated with the control shafts 27 and 28 and which mechanism isadapted to adjust said shafts angularly about the axes of theirrespective eccentric journals whereby to vary the pivot axis of theguides 18.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2 it will be seen that shafts27 and 28 have secured thereto levers 56 and 57 respectively which areconnected by means of rods 58 and 59 to corresponding levers 61 and 62on the actuating shafts 63 and 64. Both of the latter shafts extendbeyond the frame member 24 and each one has gear teeth 66 and 67 formedthereonfor meshing relation with worm gears 68 and 69 rotatably mountedin the gear housing 71. The shafts 72 and 73 of the worms are providedwith handwheels 74 and 75 by means of which each shaft 27 and 28 can beadjusted independently.

From the above description it will be apparent that adjustment of thehandwheels 74 and/or 75 imparts corresponding rotary motion to therespective shafts 27, 28 .and, by virtue of the eccentric journals onsaid shafts, such rotary motion produces a shift in the position of therespective pivot axes of the front guides 18. This shift of the pivotaxes in turn causes the guides to pivot about the supporting'shaft 22,whereby to vary the register position of said guides relative to theregister table 17 and the cutting die 13.

It will be obvious that a corresponding adjustment of both handwheels74, 75 will result in advancing or retracting the register position ofthe sheets parallel with the cutting die whereas the adjustment of onlyone handwheel, will vary the register position of the sheets angularlywith respect to the cutting die.

The guides 18 must be adjustable axially on the shaft 22, in order toaccommodate different size sheets and provisions must be made to lockthe guides in their adjusted position while permitting them to swingthereabout as the shaft 22 oscillates.

Therefore, the guides 18 are mounted on bushings 76 having flanges 77 atone end and which project beyond the opposite edge of the guides, seeFigure 2. A retainer 78 is fitted onto the free end of the bushing toretain the front guide in position and the retainer is locked, in placewith a socket head screw 79. The latter is threaded in the retainer 78and projects through an opening provided in the bushing 76 to engage theshaft22 and lock the complete assembly in position on said shaft.Adjustments can be made quickly by releasing the screw 79 whereupon theguide can be moved to the desired position.

A brief description of the device is as follows.

A sheet S is advanced on the register table 17 as the bed 11 movesforward on a die cutting stroke and until the leading edge of the sheetis within the limits of the registering zone adjacent the front guides18. In other words the pusher fingers of the feeder do not have to beadjusted with any great precision since it is only necessary to move theleading edge of the sheet adjacent the front guides which compensate forany inaccuracy in the setting of the pusher fingers by moving rearwardlyto register and position the sheet relative to the form 13 on the bed11.

The cam 37 is timed so that as the bed 11 reverses the direction ofmotion, the high part of said cam will engage the cam roller 39 therebyimparting oscillating motion to the shaft 22 in a clockwise direction asviewed in Figure l, to impart rearward motion to the front guides tomove them from their sheet stop position A to the sheet registeringposition B in a path substantially parallel to the plane of the registertable 17. This registering action of the guides 18 takes place duringthe greater portion of the return stroke of the bed 11.. Prior to thebed reaching the end of its return stroke, however, the feed roller 19drops down into engage-- ment with the sheet S thereby pressing thesheet between said feed roller and its coacting idler roller 20 to holdthe sheet in its registered position.

As the bed 11 approaches the end of its return stroke, the low 'part ofcam 37 moves under the roller 39 whereupon the spring 49 urges the bellcrank in a clockwise direction causing shaft 22 to be oscillated in a.reverse direction, counter-clockwise as viewed in Figure 1. This motioncauses the register guides to move from the register position B throughthe stop position. A to an inoperative position C in a parabolic pathwhich is generally perpendicular to the plane of the register table 17,out of the path of the sheets as the bed 11 commences its next forwardstroke. feed roller 19 is actuated in unison with the bed to proj'ectthe sheet into the 'bite between the cylinder and the form 13 preciselyin timed relation with the movement of the bed so that the sheet will bein exact register with the die cutting form 13. The roller 19 isadaptedto advance the sheet at the same speed as the bed as it moves on itsforward stroke.

If it is found that the initial setting of the front guides does notprovide for precise register of the sheet with. respect to the cuttingdie 13, adjustment of the handwheels 74 and 75, Figure 4, can be madeimmediately At this point the while the press continues to operate torotate urea- 1, trol shafts 27 and 28 and thereby vary the pivot of thefront guides so as'to advance or retract either guide separately or bothguides simultaneously, to there by correct the lay of the sheet on theregister table.

While I have herein described and disclosed a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be apparent that changes in the arrangement andoperation ofthe respective elements may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention and which wilbcome within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim: v

, 1. Mechanism for registering sheets on the feed table of a die cuttingor the like sheet processing machine comprising, eccentric journals, asupporting shaft .disposed transversely above the feed table and beingmounted for oscillation about the axis of said eccentric journals, aplurality of front guide members loosely mounted on said shaft andhaving sheet engaging fingers which intercept the plane of said table,an extension on each guide member extending above said shaft, adjustablecontrol means interconnected with said extension and constituting apivot axis about which said front guides are oscillated, said controlmeans maintaining the sheet engaging fingers in a predetermined positionfor a given angular position of the supporting shaft, and cam means foroscillating the supporting shaft in one direction at one speed and inthe opposite direction at a different speed about its eccentric journalsto in turn impart relative oscillating motion to said guide membersabout their pivot axis whereby to move the sheet engaging fingersrearwardly at one speed from said predetermined position to engage andregister a sheet on the feed table and then forwardly and upwardly at adifferent speed out of the path of said sheet.

2. Mechanism for registering sheets on the feed table of a die cuttingor the like sheet processing machine comprising, eccentric journals, asupporting shaft disposed transversely above the feed table and beingmounted for oscillation about the axis of said eccentric journals, frontguide members loosely mounted on said shaft and having sheet engagingfingers that intercept the plane of said table at a sheet stop position,a bifurcated extension formed integral with each guide member andextending above said shaft, adjustable control means coacting with thebifurcated extension and constituting a pivot axis about which saidfront guide members are oscillated, said control means maintaining thesheet engaging fingers in said sheet stop position for a given angularposition of the supporting shaft, and cam actuated means for oscillatingthe supporting shaft in one direction at a relatively slow speed and inthe opposite direction at an accelerated speed to in turn impartrelative oscillatory motion to the guide members about their pivot axeswhereby the sheet engaging fingers are caused to move in a rearwarddirection at a relatively slow speed from the sheet stop position toengage and register a sheet on the feed table and then in a forwarddirection at an accelerated speed through the stop position to aretracted position out of the path of said sheet.

3. Mechanism for registering sheets on the feed table of a die cuttingor the like sheet processing machine comprising, eccentric journals, asupporting shaft disposed transversely above the feed table and beingmounted for oscillation about the axis of said eccentric journals, frontguide members loosely mounted on said shaft and having sheet engagingfingers which intercept the plane of said table, said fingers having asheet stop position, a sheet register position and a retracted position,a bifurcated extension formed integral with said members and extendingabove said shaft, adjustable control means having coaction with saidextension to maintain said fingers in their sheet stop position for agiven angular position of the supporting shaft, said control meansconstituting a pivot axis about which said guide members are oscillated,and cam actuated drive means for oscillating the supporting shaft in onedirection at a relatively slow speed and in the other direction at anaccelerated speed about its eccentric journals to in turn impartrelative oscillating motion to the front guide members about their axeswhereby the sheet engaging fingers move at a relatively slow speed fromthe sheet stop position to the sheet register position and thence at anaccelerated speed through the stop position to the retracted position,the respective axes of the eccentric journals, the supporting shaft andthe control means being so disposed that the motion of the fingers issubstantially parallel to the plane of the feed table between the stopposition and the register position and generally perpendicular to saidplane between the stop position and the retracted position.

4. Mechanism for registering sheets on the feed table of a die cuttingor the like sheet processing machine comprising, eccentric journals, asupporting shaft disposed transversely above the feed table and beingmounted for oscillation about the axis of said eccentric journals,

front guide members adapted to be oscillated by said supporting shaftand having a sheet stop position, a sheet register position and aretracted position, said guide members each including a depending sheetengaging finger, an intermediate hub portion and a bifurcated extension,each front guide member being mounted by its hub portion on thesupporting shaft for relative rotation, an adjustable eccentricallyjournalled control shaft coacting with the bifurcated extensionof eachmember to provide a pivot axis for the member about which it willoscillate, said control shafts maintaining the respective sheet engagingfingers in the sheet stop position for a given angular position of thesupporting shaft, and cam actuated means for oscillating the supportingshaft in one direction at a relatively slow speed and in the oppositedirection at an accelerated speed to in turn impart relative oscillatingmotion to the guide members about their axes whereby to cause the sheetengaging fingers thereof to move at a relatively slow speed in a pathsubstantially parallel to the plane of the feed table between the stopand the register positions and at an accelerated speed in a parabolicpath generally perpendicular to said plane between the stop position andthe retracted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS145,890 Morris Dec. 23, 1873 1,345,742 Blaine July 6, 1920 1,922,040Harrold Aug. 15, 1933 2,152,624 Cazes Apr. 4, 1939 2,753,184 BackhouseJuly 3, 1956 2,821,911 Mestre Feb. 4, 1958

